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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23552752">Saturated Sunrise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/InvitingNonsenseWorld/pseuds/InvitingNonsenseWorld'>InvitingNonsenseWorld</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Synesthesia [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Air Nomad Genocide (Avatar), Angst, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Minor Injuries, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Panic Attacks, Psychological Trauma, Sort Of, Synesthesia, Vomiting, Zuko's Scar (Avatar), but things are still hard, canon-typical imperialism, ursa was a good mom but she messed up sometimes, zuko has synesthesia, zuko's trying</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:28:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,068</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23552752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/InvitingNonsenseWorld/pseuds/InvitingNonsenseWorld</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Uncle’s face didn’t tighten in anger. He didn’t snap back or raise his hand or even loom over Zuko. He just- he kept looking at Zuko with soft eyes. “Just because a crab-fish is taken to an aquarium, it doesn’t stop being a crab-fish.”</p><p>The colors were still flashing. </p><p>Nausea crawled up Zuko’s throat.</p><p>(An interlude of Zuko's time at sea).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iroh &amp; Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Synesthesia [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689256</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>651</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Saturated Sunrise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Or, angsty, shouty baby boy is anxious, very angsty and somewhat shouty.</p><p>I'm around 3K into the continuation in which the gaang shows up, but I felt like something was missing and wrote this. It's somewhat of an interlude. It explains some things while others will be left for later ;D Hope you enjoy it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They were crossing a stretch of the ocean in which the currents weren’t in their favor, according to the navigator. It’d be a little turbulent for a few more hours until they reached favorable waters, and then it’d take one more day to reach the Mo Ce Sea.</p><p>And yet, nobody seemed to care much about it.</p><p>Zuko stood by the door, just a step away from the deck, and watched as the crewmembers laughed and talked. Someone was strumming an out of tune shamisen, and another person was singing a song. The deck looked like a canvas, with a sand-colored spot flickering to his left and green and purple flashes interleaving throughout the rest of his vision. Someone’s laughter rang out, and their orange overlapped some of the sand-yellow and green.</p><p>Music Night, as his uncle had called it. It was a fun affair - or it was supposed to be. Zuko tried to make his feet walk the next few steps, but they didn’t move.</p><p>He wondered if he ought to be angry. There wasn’t much else for anyone to be doing, though. Dinner had already been served, and the cook and another crewmember were cleaning the kitchen and the mess hall. Their course was set and they were en route. Soon enough, they would reach land, and they’d have time to explore the new Fire Nation colony.</p><p>And that was it.</p><p>It’d be the second city they’d set foot in - not that Zuko was allowed to walk much further beyond the harbor. There might be a nice seaside shop with a few scrolls he could buy if he was lucky, and Uncle planned on keeping an eye out for good quality tea leaves. They should get some more herbs, just in case - Zuko’s bandages were still on, but they didn’t itch as much anymore and Uncle’s were going off in a few more days.</p><p>And that was it.</p><p>That was all there was to it.</p><p>So music night ought to be good. It was the type of thing an actual cruise ship would have, no matter how tiny it was. Not that this was one, beyond in name, because it only carried two passengers and a minuscule crew.</p><p>They didn’t even have catapults. Whatever little armory they had was thanks to what some of the crew were able to bring with them.</p><p>Zuko breathed in and out. The colors continued flashing around in his vision in a private dance, and he tried to move his feet again.</p><p>“Prince Zuko? Is everything alright?”</p><p>Zuko didn’t turn around even as his uncle’s voice-color joined the others. Uncle’s face appeared in his field of vision, somehow finding a spot that wasn’t conquered by the colors. His brow was furrowed.</p><p>“Yeah,” Zuko said.</p><p>“Well, in that case, won’t you join us?” Uncle asked. Zuko noticed he was carrying a flute. “I was bringing this to Lieutenant Jee, and Private Nari promised to teach us a beautiful song from her home village.”</p><p>The cloud of smoke darkening inside Zuko’s chest became hotter, suffocating.</p><p>“Why?” He snapped. He made a sharp gesture toward the laughing crewmembers. “Why do you even bother with those titles? You know they’ve all been released from duty to come to this Agniforsaken ship!”</p><p>Uncle’s face didn’t tighten in anger. He didn’t snap back or raise his hand or even loom over Zuko. He just- he kept looking at Zuko with soft eyes.</p><p>“Just because a crab-fish is taken to an aquarium, it doesn’t stop being a crab-fish.”</p><p>The colors were still flashing. </p><p>Nausea crawled up Zuko’s throat.</p><p>“Right. I have to… go,” he murmured. He made a vague gesture and didn’t bolt away, because he was too old for it, but it was close. The colors followed him for a little while longer, and then it was all silent.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The village was charming, for a colony recently founded on what had once been Earth Kingdom soil. Lanterns were being lighted, small smudges of blazing yellow and orange in the poor luminosity of dusk, and there were people everywhere. The harbor wasn’t nearly as crowded, but the streets that led to it were enough to allow a peek into the excitement.</p><p>It was a festival night, the guards working by the docks explained. A celebration.</p><p>The village seemed to be thriving, and yet it didn’t have enough provisions for their ship.</p><p>“Check your records again,” Zuko snarled. He leaned over the table, but the in-town man responsible for the restocking of the Fire Nation ships merely eyed Zuko over the rim of his glasses, unruffled.</p><p>“I did, sir,” the man said in a frustratingly even purple voice. “That is all that’s listed for the ship Wani.”</p><p>“But we ought to have at least three more sacks of rice! Not to mention a larger container with medicinal herbs and more barrels of water!”</p><p>And Zuko kept listing what had been missing or lacking in their supplies, but the man’s expression didn’t change.</p><p>“There’s nothing I can do about that, sir,” the man said. “The preference goes to the warships that are resupplying here.”</p><p><em> Yeah</em>, Zuko wanted to say, <em> of course it does! But we couldn’t get any provisions at the last two colonies either and we’re not a mere traveling ship. There has to be more! Father wouldn’t leave us without- </em></p><p>His scar itched under the bandages, and Zuko couldn’t make himself finish that train of thought.</p><p>“Nephew.”</p><p>Uncle’s hand on his shoulder stopped him a few meters away from the tent of supplies. Zuko swallowed the fire on his tongue.</p><p>“Uncle, how long is our food going to last?”</p><p>Uncle stroked his beard. “I’d say about a week. Lieutenant Jee?”</p><p>“Yes, sir. A few more days if we stretch it.”</p><p>“We need to head to a bigger city then,” Zuko said. “And soon.”</p><p>“We can go over the maps again and set a new course.” Uncle nodded. “But perhaps we should also consider a way to save up money. We’d be able to complement our provisions without any issue if we bought them.”</p><p>It was what was expected of cruises and other travel ships - they had to survive off the money its passengers paid. Zuko and his uncle were royalty, but it wouldn’t do to keep emptying the safes of their Nation during war times for a frivolous thing like traveling. Zuko knew this, though he couldn’t quite see how they would get more money and food by themselves when they couldn’t even step foot further inside even the colonies.</p><p>There had to be some way. Father wouldn’t-</p><p>“Right,” Zuko managed to say after almost chewing smoke for a few seconds. “We’ll do that.”</p><p>Lieutenant Jee and his uncle exchanged a few more words, but Zuko’s attention was lost as soon as he heard a peal of high pitched laughter.</p><p>For a moment, he forgot he wasn’t supposed to pay attention to voice-colors. His head turned as light blue flashed on his left, and he saw a little girl walk past them holding her mother’s hand. She had a bag of fire flakes and popped one in her mouth every other word she blabbed. Her mother stared at her with fondness.</p><p>All around, people were talking and celebrating. It had been only a month since the colony had been founded, but they were making the best of their new home. His people were happy - and they were still his, no matter what. Maybe not his to care for in the future, but-</p><p>Yeah, he wasn’t going there tonight.</p><p>He’d do what little he could for them now, and if that meant finding other ways to get provisions so they wouldn’t take from their army, so be it.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Zuko blinked, and the boy staring at him blinked back - or he tried to. One of the boy’s eyes was partly shut, sealed in that position due to the hard, burnt skin surrounding it. No matter how much he and Zuko blinked at each other, it didn’t widen.</p><p>The burn extended toward the boy’s ear, scooping part of his cheek and part of his eyebrow, leaving a ridiculous, small tuff of black hair close to the bridge of his nose. The hard skin lightened in color the further away from the eye, until the burn ended in another darkened spot just before the boy’s ear.</p><p>The boy lifted a hand to his scar. Zuko took in a shuddering breath as hard skin met the tip of his finger.</p><p>The texture was odd. Zuko couldn’t feel his finger trailing up over it.</p><p>The boy’s hand was trembling as he pulled the ribbon holding his hair in a topknot. His hair fell in a wave. Even then, it was easy to spot the scar through his bangs.</p><p>Zuko broke the mirror in a purple staccato.</p><p>He resolutely didn’t meet Uncle’s eyes as he took out the bloody shards from Zuko’s knuckle, and instead stared at the spots of blue from the <em>clink clink clink </em>of the shards being dropped on a bowl.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The temperatures dropped suddenly while they made their way north. A few members of the crew fell sick, and all their stock of herbs ended not long after.</p><p>“It’s no use,” Puo said, shaking his head. He was their quartermaster and the one with the most knowledge about medicine, so he was their surrogate doctor as well. “We need something else to get their fever down.”</p><p>“Some more water would do us all some good too,” Nari added. She had been acting as his assistant since she had experience in helping healers - something about her mother and a small hometown.</p><p>The only problem was that all the closest cities were Earth Kingdom.</p><p>Well, actually, there was another problem, one that was both easier and harder to solve: at this rate, the crew’s voice-colors were going to drive Zuko <em>insane</em>.</p><p>He didn’t pay much attention to colors nowadays - he couldn’t help but see them, but he sure was in control of whether or not he associated a name to each shade. Or he tried to, but that wasn’t the point. The thing was, he knew what happened to colors when people were sick and their noses were stuffed. <em> He knew it. </em></p><p>And yet, when he heard Privates Taiyo and Dai joke in between coughs and Tomi complain about the noise, even from the other side of the door, Zuko froze. He stared at the shades of blue and green, and he <em>knew </em>they were wrong, that whatever their original hue, they <em>weren’t s</em>upposed to be blue like the sky and green like limes and pears.</p><p>And he shouldn’t, but he thought of his mother. He thought of his father.</p><p>Then his scar began to ache.</p><p>The crew was still his responsibility, though, so he breathed in and out and forced his legs to move. He had to wonder if the spirits were laughing at him when even the helmsman and the head engineer greeted him with nasal voices later.</p><p>The decision wasn’t hard to make, in the end.</p><p>As soon as they anchored the Wani, a good distance away from any actual dock, Zuko took a boat and stormed into the first Earth Kingdom village he found.</p><p>It didn’t go very well.</p><p>“He’s Fire Nation!” A woman gasped, pointing at him not even two minutes after he got there. She pulled a child behind her.</p><p>“So what?” Zuko growled back. He wasn’t wearing any armor - sure, none of the armors they scavenged from the crates brought along with their initial provisions fit him, but that <em>wasn’t the point </em> - and he had money. He was buying from them fair and honest. “I just want some medicinal herbs. I’ll pay.”</p><p>Despite Zuko’s words, the old herbalist he had approached took a few steps away.</p><p>“Liar!” Someone screamed.</p><p>“Leave us alone!”</p><p>“You’re all monsters!”</p><p>The child behind the woman was trying to hold in sobs as he held the woman’s skit in a tight grip.</p><p>The fire building up under Zuko’s skin went out.</p><p>The bag of coins felt heavy in his pocket as Zuko left the village under insults of the most varied colors. He followed the path back to the boat by memory, waiting and waiting and waiting until the multitude of colors collapsed into a solo sand-colored spot. By the time he got to the Wani, he wasn’t trembling anymore.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The second try, in a village a bit further north, went much better. The fact that Zuko had his uncle along with him and that they were wearing brown clothes - which Lieutenant Jee had arranged somehow - probably helped, he had to admit.</p><p>Both villages had been poor, but this time Zuko was able to see that the people were... normal, in every sense of the world, when they weren’t yelling him out of their home. A bit like those he saw in the colonies.</p><p>Some stared at him, and Zuko had the strangest urge to rip the remains of his eyebrow. He contented himself with pulling his bangs to the side to cover as much of his scar as it could.</p><p>Some people were kind.</p><p>“We do have cilantro leaves,” the woman behind the counter said. She put another jar, this one filled with yellow leaves, in front of them. “But if you're looking for something really good for fever, I suggest taking this.”</p><p>“Oh?” Uncle turned the jar around in his hands. “I’m not familiar with these leaves.”</p><p>The woman grinned. “That’s because you only find it in a plant native from here.” Her beige voice-color flashed above her, and her smile turned sad. “We used to export them to neighbor cities before the Fire Nation burned down most of our fields. There’s only a few left now.”</p><p>“What?” Zuko blurted out. “Why would w- they do that?”</p><p>The woman looked at his scar and gave him a pitying look. “That’s just how they are, kid. The army kicked them out later, but the damage was already done.”</p><p>That… didn’t make sense. They were supposed to bring the enlightenment of the Fire Nation to these people. They were meant to conquer, not destroy.</p><p>No.</p><p>She had to have gotten it wrong. Besides, this was just one tiny village, and the Earth Kingdom was large.</p><p>Zuko avoided his uncle's eyes the entire way back. He wasn’t sure what would be worse to see in them.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The yellow leaves worked wonders. Soon, the whole crew was back on their feet and Zuko didn’t have to tense up when he saw someone’s voice-color anymore.</p><p>Most of the other herbs they brought back were of good quality as well.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Purple splashed in his vision. It appeared in a short burst of color that overlapped the other ones flashing around. They all disappeared together thereafter, and it was only then that Zuko noticed the mess hall had fallen into utter silence.</p><p>His gaze fell on the shattered plate and the food spread on the ground by his feet.</p><p>“Sir?”</p><p>Orange-red flashed again in the middle of Zuko’s vision, and that same strange hitch in his chest made itself known. His face was hot, it was too hot, <em> it was </em>-</p><p>He opened and closed his mouth, but there was not enough air in the room.</p><p>He bolted out of the mess hall and down the corridors, away and as far as he could until the door to his room slammed closed behind him and he fell to his knees. He gulped in air, the candles in his room flaring up, <em>no</em> <em>nononono</em>, but his chest was still hurting so in a sharp exhale he plunged the room in darkness.</p><p>For a while, that was all he could do to keep breathing.</p><p>Then he pulled his legs to his chest and the first tears broke free. They ran down his cheeks, scalding, and that only made him shake harder.</p><p>It could’ve been minutes or hours later when there was a knock on his door.</p><p>“Nephew?”</p><p>Huh, he couldn’t see colors in pitch-blackness after all.</p><p>Zuko swallowed a sob. “W-<em>what </em>?”</p><p>Light flooded into his room. He stiffened when he caught a glimpse of his uncle and curled tighter around himself. The old metal plate on the ground before his door groaned and then someone squeezed his shoulder. Zuko shuddered around another sob, but he let Uncle pull him into a hug. The warmth of his uncle’s hold was comfortable, not hot, <em> not hot</em>, and tension in Zuko’s muscles flowed away. He gripped Uncle Iroh’s clothes and tried to muffle a hiccup.</p><p>“It’s okay, Nephew,” Uncle murmured. His voice was so soft. “There’s no shame in crying.”</p><p>A keening noise escaped Zuko’s lips, and before long he was pressing closer into his uncle and shaking and shaking as he sobbed.</p><p>Uncle was humming a song under his breath when Zuko finally pulled away. The door to his room was closed and two candles had been lighted.</p><p>“How are you feeling?”</p><p>“Like my head is going to explode,” Zuko said. He rubbed his eye.</p><p>“Well, I have just the perfect tea for that. Would you like to try it?”</p><p>“You have just the perfect tea for every situation.”</p><p>Iroh chuckled softly. “There is indeed a most wonderful number of blends one can create when it comes to tea.”</p><p>Zuko remained in silence for a few seconds before nodding.</p><p>When he sipped the tea, it was indeed slightly different from others he had tried before. It was still leaf juice, but there was a strong taste alongside it, a pinch of something sweet and spicy. It was nice.</p><p>“Did you like it?”</p><p>“Hmnh. It’s... good.”</p><p>Zuko held the cup close to his chest and breathed in the steam as well as he could. His nose didn’t feel as stuffed as before already.</p><p>Uncle smiled at him.</p><p>“I don’t want to talk about it,” Zuko blurted out.</p><p>“Alright,” Uncle agreed.</p><p>“It’s just- it was stupid.”</p><p>“I don’t know about that. You wouldn’t blame a star from falling from the sky in search of a company to alleviate its loneliness.”</p><p>“...What?”</p><p>“Nothing worth crying is stupid, Nephew,” Uncle said.</p><p>Zuko resisted the urge to pull his hair. “It is when you get scared of a reddish-orange voice-color thinking it’s red.”</p><p>The cup almost slipped from his fingers.</p><p>“You mean voice-color like I’m pine-green?” Uncle asked.</p><p>For a horrible second, Zuko’s heart stopped. “You know?!”</p><p>“You’ve mentioned colors before,” Uncle said. He continued as if he didn’t hear Zuko’s shrill of <em> “what?!”</em>. “It is a bit of an unusual ability, but it’s not a bad one.”</p><p>“Not a bad one?” Zuko repeated. “It’s a <em> curse</em>.”</p><p>Uncle frowned. “Does it hurt you?”</p><p>“No! I mean, an actual curse!”</p><p>There was alarm in his uncle’s eyes when he leaned forward. “What? When did that happen?”</p><p>“It… didn’t. I mean, probably when I was born? It’s been there for as long as I can remember.”</p><p>“I see. And what is it exactly that this curse does to you?”</p><p>“It-” Zuko swallowed thickly. He fixed his gaze on his futon and forced the rest of the words out. “It makes me see colors at every sound I hear. Any sounds, even voices or-or noises. Each one has its color that, uh, that flashes somewhere in my line of sight.”</p><p>“And those are what you call voice-colors?”</p><p>Zuko took in a ragged breath and glanced away.</p><p>“...Yeah.”</p><p>Uncle Iroh made a thoughtful noise. “Nephew,” he started. “I don’t think it’s a curse.”</p><p>Zuko’s head snapped up. “You can’t- you can’t know that, not for sure.”</p><p>“But I can. After the Siege of Ba Sing Se-” Uncle closed his eyes for a second. “After I lost Lu Ten, I wandered around the Earth Kingdom for a few weeks. I’m sure you remember that.” When Zuko nodded, he continued. “During that time, I had some encounters, I suppose you can call them that, with the Spiritual World. I got to know a little how Spirits are and what they do when they take an interest in our world, and I can assure you it is nothing like your sound-seeing ability.”</p><p>That was just- no.</p><p>After all this time, it just couldn’t be.</p><p>“But mom said- she said...” </p><p>“Ah, I see. I imagine your mother became very frightened when she learned about your ability. She was a knowledgeable woman. Perhaps she knew something I do not.” Uncle shrugged. “Perhaps not.”</p><p>“I-I… I don’t… it’s not-she <em> didn’t</em>-”</p><p>“I’m sure your mother only had your well-being in her mind. Spirits are dangerous, fickle beings, it’s never bad to be cautious. We can search around to make sure. Whatever the true nature of this ability, there is bound to be something about it somewhere. And if it is a curse, we can search for a way to break it,” Uncle said. He squeezed Zuko’s shoulder. “But Nephew, I still highly doubt it is one.”</p><p>Zuko didn’t know how to answer that.</p><p>“...Alright,” he said, his voice but a whisper. He felt lightheaded all of a sudden.</p><p>“That’s settled then.” Uncle smiled. “I do have another question, though. Feel free not to answer, but who has a red voice-color?”</p><p>Yeah, Zuko had seen this one coming from the start. He looked away.</p><p>“On the ship, no one. I mean, mine is a light shade of red - almost pink.” Zuko scrunched his nose. “But Sargeant Kei’s voice is a reddish-orange. It’s not that red.” He ran a finger over the rim of the teacup, waiting for the question, but Uncle remained in silence. He sighed. “Azula does. Father too.”</p><p>“...I see.”</p><p>Zuko was exhausted.</p><p>When Uncle pulled him closer again, Zuko didn’t resist. He leaned his head against his uncle’s shoulder and let himself just breathe.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Not all Fire Nation colonies weren’t thriving, after all. Some, especially the ones with a large Earth Kingdom population left, faced riots every so often. Those were contained easily enough, according to the guards stationed there, but tension remained in the air.</p><p>For others, there was never enough food coming from outside to supply them - war brought a shortage of food, as it was expected - so they tended to struggle during the coldest months. Typical Fire Nation crops didn’t fare well against the coldest temperatures of Earth winter, so those colonies relied on imports to keep their customary diet.</p><p>Some colonies, however, kept the original crops from the Earth Kingdom and learned how to cultivate their vegetables, greens, and orchards. Those were the ones that flourished the most.</p><p>The Wani had to make do with visiting more Earth Kingdom towns in small groups to buy off them. Zuko looked for protests in his crew against his order, but there were none.</p><p>“They have good herbs,” Puo shrugged.</p><p>“And good beer,” Private Taiyo whispered to Dai and Tomi probably louder than intended.</p><p>Uncle smiled at him.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“It’s… silent here,” Zuko said.</p><p>His voice seemed small in the magnitude of the deteriorated stones and elegant architecture. It didn’t echo, swallowed by a sea breeze.</p><p>Zuko breathed in the clear air and closed his eyes, feeling the slight chill even through the thick fabric of his clothing.</p><p>“That it is,” Uncle said, his voice just as quiet.</p><p>The Western Air Temple was unlike any other place Zuko had ever visited. The bare minimum of colors followed him as they walked through the corridors, and it seemed as if even their footsteps were too timid to make a loud noise in the emptiness.</p><p>Zuko took in the faded out paintings on the walls and the small sculptures and details on the stones, searching.</p><p>Lieutenant Jee had been the one to mention they were nearing the waters of the Western Air Temple. Zuko was the one who ordered them to set course there.</p><p>He still wasn’t sure why he did that - all he knew was that it had been a cold day, his scar had been hurting and he could almost taste smoke in his tongue. He had needed something - <em> anything </em>would do at this point. It had been months and-</p><p>So he continued searching.</p><p>“Maybe we should visit their library,” Zuko suggested.</p><p>“Their scrolls are probably frayed, but I’m sure some must have survived the years,” Uncle nodded. “Maybe we can even find some accounts from people who experience something similar to you. The Air Nomads were said to be people detached from material goods, and sometimes that brought them closer to the Spirits.”</p><p>Zuko still didn’t know how to feel about Uncle knowing about voice-colors.</p><p>“Yeah. I guess,” he murmured.</p><p>Then he turned the corner and something hollow crashed into a series of green, echoing clackings.</p><p>Zuko’s mind went blank as his eyes trailed down the corridor and over the scorch marks and skeletons huddled together. A dark green flashed right beside where the two old Fire Nation armors laid, and somewhere inside his head he knew there should’ve been words along with the color, but the buzzing in his ears was too loud by then.</p><p>His gaze fell on a cluster of bones by his foot. There was a rusted Fire Nation helmet a meter away. The bones were… Spirits, they were <em>small</em>.</p><p>The hollow eyes of a detached skull stared at him.</p><p>Zuko turned around and vomited.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Do you want to do it, Nephew?” Uncle asked.</p><p>Zuko nodded, but he made no move for the baskets with the ashes. He gazed over the edge of the Temple into the horizon, where the wind was blowing toward.</p><p>“There was never an Air Nomad army, was there. They weren’t false pacifists.”</p><p>It was meant as a question, but it came out as an affirmation.</p><p>Uncle sighed, the sound heavy. “There wasn’t.”</p><p>“And we still attacked them. <em>All </em>of them. Ruthlessly.”</p><p>“We did.”</p><p>Zuko thought of the huddles of small bones in some of the rooms, sometimes accompanied by a larger skeleton. Those were the worst ones, with the most scorch marks and signs of a struggle.</p><p>“We didn’t even offer them the opportunity to surrender honorably. If we had, the children wouldn’t-” Zuko’s hands closed in fists. “Where is the integrity in that? It was a dishonest attack, not even a fight. A…”</p><p>“A genocide,” his uncle completed.</p><p>Zuko felt nauseated again. The next words felt like ashes on his mouth. “And why aren’t we taught that in lessons?”</p><p>The look his uncle gave him back was sorrowful.</p><p>Zuko scattered the ashes on the wind, and they made their prayers to Agni and a few Air Gods his uncle knew about together. Zuko asked for a peaceful passing for the souls and offered his apologies for not finding proper Air Nomads rituals to follow. He didn’t ask for forgiveness for what transpired on these grounds for what his ancestors did was unforgivable.</p><p>Agni. <em> Children</em>.</p><p>He stared at the remains of ashes coloring his fingers grey as the hollowness in his chest chased away the air in his lungs. Away and away and away his breath went until he was bare and the shape of his world didn’t make sense anymore.</p><p>Something snapped, and tears fell free from Zuko’s eyes again.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>When they visited a Fire Nation colony again, there was a festival happening.</p><p>Zuko sneaked into the city and walked aimlessly through the throngs of people. Happy chatter filled his ears, but he pushed past the jitters the dance of colors in his vision gave him and continued roaming around. He stopped to watch a play and visited the stands by the small stage.</p><p>That night, he returned to the Wani with a blue theatre mask among his purchases, hidden from sight between the folds of his clothes.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The sound coming from the deck was harmonic.</p><p>Heh, someone had tunned the shamisen, after all. It created a pleasant light blue color instead of that horrid purple from before.</p><p>Puo could use some singing training, however. Spirits, Private Nari too.</p><p>Uncle was the first to notice him.</p><p>“Nephew!” He gave Zuko a happy but confused smile. “What are you doing standing there?”</p><p>“Nothing.”</p><p>Zuko approached the huddle on the deck, waving for them to continue when the music stopped. They picked up where they left, albeit a bit hesitant, and Zuko joined his uncle when he made space on the crate he was using as a bench.</p><p>“Is everything alright?” Uncle asked, quietly.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>Uncle made a head motion toward Lieutenant Jee and Private Taiyo, who were playing the flute and the shamisen. Zuko startled, realizing what he meant.</p><p>“Yeah. Music night is… interesting, I guess.”</p><p>Not... exactly a relaxing affair, but interesting nonetheless.</p><p>Uncle gave him another smile. “Good!”</p><p>He poured tea - because of course, he had brought tea to Music Night - into a cup. His sleeve slid down when he pressed the cup into Zuko’s hands, and the edge of the burn marring his forearm became visible.</p><p>“Tell me what you think of it,” Uncle said. He put his arm down, and the sleeve slid back over the burn, breaking Zuko’s stare. “It’s a new blend.”</p><p>“Ah. Of course.” He took a sip. “It’s delicious,” he said, and Uncle beamed. <em> For leaf juice</em>, Zuko didn’t add.</p><p>He waited as one song merged into another, a more upbeat melody that Privates Taiyo and Dai knew the lyrics to, before speaking again.</p><p>“Hey, Uncle.”</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>“Why don’t you open your own teashop?” At his uncle’s surprised look, he added: “It's just. Weren’t you the one who suggested we needed to save up money? If we have our source of income, that’s solved.”</p><p>And Uncle loved making tea. A damn good tea, going by the happy sighs of the crew whenever he prepared a large pot, and one he never hesitated to offer to others.</p><p>Uncle stroked his beard. “Well, that would require some saving up of its own. Not to mention, finding the ideal city to set the shop.”</p><p>That wasn't a protest.</p><p>“We have… time.” He shrugged. “Right?”</p><p>Not that it would be easy - Zuko wasn’t even sure he could stay in an enclosed space full of people for a long time - but it was something.</p><p>Uncle gave him a long look. Zuko gave him a tentative smile and tried to hold it steady even as the colors flashing grated on his nerves.</p><p>Uncle’s eyes softened.</p><p>“I suppose we do,” he said.</p><p>Zuko sighed in relief, and his smile became more real.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The part in the Western Air Temple was somewhat inspired by Haircrescendo's fic "To Take Care" and something of Muffinlance (I just don't remember what?? so sorry). If you somehow haven't checked out their stories, go do it! They're wonderful. I don't know where this concept came from, honestly, or if it's something from one or two fics or if it's a thing widespread around the fandom. Anyway, I've seen it around and I love it, so here it is.</p><p>On another note, I'm curious. If you had to choose orange or violet for Sokka, which would you pick? Each one would actually lead to some different things happening, so I wonder haha</p></blockquote></div></div>
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